Staff

Furniture Society Administration

Brigitte Martin is Founder and Editor of crafthaus, an online social media network since 2008. She has worked for the auction house Sotheby’s as well as run her own brick-and-mortar gallery in Pittsburgh, PA. She has served as Chair of Fundraising and Development on the Board of Directors of the Society of North American Goldsmiths since 2012, culminating her service as the organization’s president. Martin is a regular contributor to American Craft Magazine and was recently named the publication’s Editor at large. She founded a national Craft Think Tank in 2012 and has co-organized the event together with the American Craft Council since 2013. Martin was named one of the 5 “Best Art Curators in Pittsburgh” by CBS, as well as one of “9 People to Watch in 2013” by The Crafts Report. She authored the book Humor in Craft, winner of multiple awards. She was featured on the NPR radio show “Radio Times” in May 2012 and by American Craft Magazine (2010, 2015.) Martin is a national public speaker on aspects related to running a business in the craft field, a communications expert, and a sought-after juror for craft shows and competitions. A goldsmith by training, Martin is a prominent, national advocate for art and craft, someone who supports and champions all craft media and artists working in the field today.

Monica Hampton has had a lifelong interest in the arts and education. Her background is a combination of fine arts, art history, education, and public outreach, with an emphasis on program development for museums and organizations specializing in history, fine art, craft, and design. As an independent consultant , she produced the American Craft Council’s 2016 conference. Monica served as the Director of Education at The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) and was formerly the Director of Education at the American Craft Council (ACC). Past positions include working with the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD), Metropolis Magazine, and the Cooper-Hewitt.

She studied fine arts and art history at Bard College, received a dual fine arts/art history BA degree from George Washington University, and holds an MS in Museum Education from Bank Street.

Katrina Duperree, EFASO Intern
efaso@furnituresociety.org

Katrina Duperree​ is a Western Pennsylvania-based artist and furniture maker. She received a BFA from Edinboro University in 2016 and apprenticed in Egg Collective’s Brooklyn-based studio the following year. She is a recipient of the Windgate Fellowship and the Ruth Clark Scholarship for furniture design. Katrina currently spends the majority of her creative practice building a tiny home with her fiancé.

Megan Tilston, volunteerCommunications(Social Media)

Megan Tilston is a Toronto-based furniture maker whose work has been shown across North America. Her career in woodworking began at Merganzer Furniture in 2004 after lending a hand on a steam-bending project. With a background in graphic design, she spent the next decade immersed in all aspects of furniture making through an informal apprenticeship while being encouraged to pursue her own designs. You can see more of Megan's work at www.megtilston.com

David Fleming, volunteerWeb Site Administration, Communications

David has been a member of The Furniture Society since 1999, his first conference was the 2000 gathering hosted by Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada. He was recognized by the Society Board as 'Volunteer of the Year' at the 2001 conference in Arizona and joined the website development team as a volunteer soon after. He served one term on the Board (2003-2006), managing the website in its entirety, and then as a contractor served The Furniture Society as Web Site Administrator from 2006 to 2016. He continues to help manage the website on a volunteer basis. David studied furniture making for two years (1984-86) with James Krenov, in the Fine Woodworking Program at the College of the Redwoods. He makes furniture and teaches woodworking at Arizona State University, the Southwest School of Woodworking, and at his own shop in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Teresa Audet, volunteerCommunications (Newsletter)

Teresa Audet is an artist and educator based in Minneapolis. She has a BFA in Furniture Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and has studied at the Mount Fuji School of Fine Woodworking in Yamanashi, Japan. She has been the wood Artist-in-Residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center and will be a Studio Fellow at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship (fall of 2018).

"I am excited to take over the role as Newsletter Editor and contribute to highlight our incredible members. There are so many exciting opportunities and connections in our community and I look forward to cultivating this communication."

Ellie Richards, volunteerCommunications (Outreach)

Ellie Richards is an artist living and working in Penland, North Carolina, she is the wood studio coordinator at Penland School of Crafts. Her work, both furniture and sculpture, are exhibited widely including recent juried exhibitions at the Mint Museum, the Center for Craft, Creativity, and Design, SOFA Chicago, and the Society of Contemporary Craft. Following an MFA from Arizona State University, Ellie was a resident artist at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Peters Valley School of Craft, the Appalachian Center for Craft, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her work can be seen at www.ellie-richards.com and on Instagram @ellieinthewoods.

Ellie's role at the Furniture Society will be to open pathways from this organization to its members (and beyond) to woodworking related opportunities in an effort to expand and facilitate the accessibility to the professional landscape our field encompasses. She will work closely with academic programs, craft schools, art centers, and various other funding sources to establish relationships with clear and direct communication about opportunities for makers. Her goal is to implement the Furniture Society as a conduit for this information so that we better serve our wide network of members and growing affiliates.

Chelsea Witt, volunteerCommunications (Instagram)

Chelsea Witt is an artist living and working out of mid-coast Maine. Chelsea is a woodworker, furniture maker, sculptor, and illustrator. After graduating from the University of South Florida with a BFA in 2012 they have worked and taken opportunities up and down the east coast seeking growth in furniture making specifically. Chelsea has worked for and or studied under artists such as Alexis Dold, Tyler Hays (BDDW), Christina Boy, Aaron Fedarko, and David Upfill-Brown. They have attended courses at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine. Currently Chelsea is working for the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship assisting Tim Rousseau’s twelve-week Furniture Intensive.

Lori James, Administrative Intern

Lori James works closely with the Furniture Society's staff to help with the logistics of our organization. She is an industrial designer and musician who hails from South Texas. Lori is currently working on an M.F.A. in furniture design at Savannah College of Art and Design while learning a few tricks of the trade as an intern at Williams Upholstery in Savannah, GA.